Every Arizona Football All-American in history: D-linemen Rob Waldrop and Tedy Bruschi

Tedy Bruschi

Put simply, Bruschi is the greatest pass rusher to ever suit up in an Arizona uniform. His position as the all-time sack leader for Arizona is virtually untouchable, and Bruschi's 55.0 (per official Arizona records) sacks are more than double second-place Ricky Elmore (25.5). He made a living in Tucson for years terrorizing quarterbacks, logging 10 or more sacks in each of his final three seasons.

Over his first two seasons, Bruschi only played sparingly and was listed as an outside linebacker. Nerve issues in his neck and a broken thumb led him to redshirt in 1991 after logging two starts, and he posted 4.5 sacks in 1992 despite only starting one game at strongside linebacker.

Upon making the switch to defensive end, Bruschi immediately blossomed into every quarterback's worst nightmare. Bruschi notched an absolutely absurd 19.0 sacks in 1993 — an Arizona single-season record — and paired it with 27.5 TFLs to boot. He earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors and was named the Wildcats' team MVP, but was snubbed from the All-American First Team (although he did make the second team).

In 1994, Waldrop was drafted and Bruschi saw the load he was expected to bear increase significantly. He saw a slight downtick in his QB-unfriendly ways and "only" notched 10 sacks and 15 TFLs on the season, but the college football world was waking up. He again earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors and was named a consensus All-American while being a Lombardi Award (Best Lineman) finalist.

The accolades peaked in 1995 when he logged 14.5 sacks (per Arizona records). Again, this stands to this day as the second-most all-time for an Arizona player in a single season. Of his 60 tackles, 48 were made solo and 19.5 were TFLs. He summitted the mountain and earned unanimous First Team All-American honors in 1995, alongside a first-team All-Pac-10 nod, the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year Award, and the Morris Award for the Pac-10's best defensive lineman.

Bruschi's college career is one of the most storied out of anybody who's ever suited up with the Block A on his helmet. Though most will remember him for his extensive list of contributions as a member of the New England Patriots, there's a good reason Bruschi joined Waldrop in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013 and nobody will ever wear No. 68 again for the Wildcats. The 'Desert Swarm' era truly was something else.

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